


Books under MDS 646.77 -Love at the library

by PeneighDzredfohl



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: #fiki week 2019, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-05-20 09:15:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19373728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeneighDzredfohl/pseuds/PeneighDzredfohl
Summary: Fili is a lonely librarian until a cute reader of romances wanders into his library and into his life.  Kili is new in town and not into the whole pub crawl scene. Who knew you could find love in a library?





	Books under MDS 646.77 -Love at the library

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Linane](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linane/gifts).



> Linane, your artwork inspired me so much as I wrote this. The drawing you did of Fili and Kili cuddled on the couch with Fili reading to Kili stuck in my mind.

Fheilimí (F-eye-L-EH-mee) DeWinter, (just call him Fíli, his mother gave birth to him with far too many pain killers) a man of 40 years, has always loved books.

New books with that new book smell (that you just can’t describe, like new car smell) and old tomes with their slightly dusty, musty, ancient smell. Both got him excited to read.

He’d never confess that he did, in fact, have a few e-books, but it was for emergencies only, most of the time.

His taste in books was rather eclectic. There were plenty of the classics he loved, (he hated everything they made him read in high school though. If you weren’t depressed before reading them, you most definitely were afterward) He like high fantasy novels, and mysteries, some of the older Science Fiction from the '60s to the ’90s. Calvin and Hobbes was a real favorite, as his mum had told him she knew from the first time she read the comic, she was going to have a son just like Calvin. He has not disappointed her in the slightest!

 He had his collection of books from when he was a child. Every Black Stallion book, the Chronicles of Narnia, the entire collection of Encyclopedia Brown books, and who hadn’t read The Mouse and the Motorcycle.

Most folks liked to read the current trend of murder mysteries, or political intrigue, not his forte, but he was here to please. He’d love to meet someone, anyone with his taste in books. But who found love in a library?

Recently a new patron had been coming in and borrowing a dozen or more gay romance novels at a time and returning them within the week, only to borrow the same amount all over again. At this rate he’d have to get e-books; the library didn’t have a vast selection.  The only reason they even had an LGBTQ+ section was because of Fíli.

Fíli wasn’t the type to be all showy and in your face about his preferences. It was his life, and that was private. But the new patron was an enigma to Fíli.

**~~*~~**

Kíli had moved into the town and lived there for about 4 months before his mam found out he was either holed up in his flat or stocking the shelves at the small quickie mart near his place. She chewed him out as any good Irish mam would over her son not mingling with his peers.

In this day and age, a gay man had plenty of partners to choose from (providing he was careful and choosy. Didn’t fall for the first sweet line given him, or the first set of flirty eyes batted at him) shite he loved his mam to the moon and back, but she could really drive a man to drink. So, seeing as he was not into the bar scene (a nice upscale pub with good food, well that was different) he did the next best thing.

He went to the small library in town to see if they had anything good. He wasn’t finding anything much to his liking, then again he had never been good at finding books in the library.

It was when he spotted a breathtakingly lovely man with long curly blond hair in a braid stacking books, that he mustered what little courage he had to walk over and wait till the blond God was done with his work. He had been so quiet in his ogling that when the blond man had an arm full of book and spotted Kíli out of the corner of his eye, he gave a quiet yelp and dropped all the books!

Kíli apologized profusely and helped pick them up.

“Just set them on the cart, and how can I be of service? My name is Fheilimí DeWinter by the way, but everyone just calls me Fíli.”

 Kíli laughed, “My name is Ceallaighen (kell-EE-en) Springe, my friends call me Kíli. I like the winter /spring thing too.”

 That made Fíli chuckle as well.

“What’s your genre Kíli?”

“Uh, I’m a gay guy?”

“Huh? So, you’d like what kind of books in that genre?”

“Wait. What’s genre?”

“The type of books you like, mysteries, thrillers, horror, non-fiction, romance…”

“Oooooh! Oh! Romance, yeah, that’s what I’d like, but do you have that in the type I’d like?”

“If you mean LGBTQ, then follow me. I’ve made up a smallish section, but I’m working on getting more. I’ve found some amazing female authors of M/M romance, so I am ordering those. But what we do have I handpicked as tasteful, with a few, pardon reference, 'bodice rippers', if one likes that kind of stuff, as possible. I wanted a nice variety, and to each his own, I say.”

Kíli took this as a green light that his gaydar had been on the money and Fíli was gay as well. Sweet baby Jaysus, how did he get so lucky? Unless Fíli had a partner…this required further investigation.

“OK, here we are, as I said it is small, but I am working on getting more with all the new authors I’ve found.”

Kíli peeked at them, and they seemed OK. Not like some of the underground, trashy smut he had read. There is smut, and then there is romantic smut.

“Uh, would you have any suggestions for a single guy? I mean I like it more in the new adult range, but not angsty, more fluff.”

 He gave him the side eye to see if Fíli thought he was stupid.

“Fluff is the best way to go in my never to be humble opinion. We spend all day in angst, why go home and sit by yourself reading more angst?  I like curling up with a fluff-filled book and my fluffy cat.”

“Just you and your cat?” Kíli queried, then blushed as that was about as subtle as a brick in the face!

“Yes,” Fíli grinned so huge Kíli was melting, “Just my cat and me.”

Kíli picked out about a dozen books, and as he was checking out said, “My wiener dog and I will enjoy cuddling up with these.”

Fíli again had a huge grin on his face that made Kíli turn bright red all over again, “Just you and your dog?"

“I deserve that,” Kíli chuckled, “Yes, just me and PD.”

“PD?”

“Well the first night I moved to town, I found him by my rubbish bin and brought him in and cleaned him up, I set him on the floor and asked him what his name was. He piddled on the floor. So, I named him P-didley or PD.”

“He sounds cute.”

“Oh, he really is.”

“Well, you are all set here, enjoy your reading and your pup.”

“I will. See you next week.”

“It’s a date. Er, uh, shite, I mean, well you know…”

Kíli laughed at Fíli’s discomfort but liked the sound of a date with him. He nodded, “Sounds good to me. Later!”

**~~*~~**

Well, other than a few short conversations, things were going too slow for Fíli’s taste. So, he decided that before Kíli came in next, he’d have a stack of what he felt would be books right up Kíli’s alley (and maybe a book or two of Fíli’s favorites) and set them up in a quiet far off corner of the library with some privacy screens. Although he hated electric kettles and bagged tea, desperate times called for desperate measures. And he was getting desperate to know Kíli better than the short, shy conversations they had.

Kíli looked the hipster type with his cool skinny jeans that hugged his tight arse perfectly (it wasn’t really Fíli’s fault the whole stack of books fell off his desk so he could get a lovely view of that rump.) A well-worn and probably soft as butter black leather jacket along with a heather grey t-shirt that had a faded logo on it.

He had longish black hair that was a bit mussed in a sexy, ‘just got out of bed and didn’t even try,’ look. His eyes were a chocolate brown that was a solid brown no flecks or anything (and why was Fíli even waxing poetic on his looks? Oh, who cared?! It was just Fíli in his own mind) He was tall and what some might at first glance call lanky. Fíli knew that he had some guns under there, as well as meat on his bones. Men today either had to be near twink size or bulked out with 12 pack abs. At least the covers of the romance books Kíli was reading were.

Fíli was a tad shorter than Kíli, But he was solid. He didn’t work out, just liked to walk a lot and maybe if no one was looking swing from the monkey bars a few times back and forth or spend a bit of time on the swings. Way more fun than a BO smelling humid gym.

He got cursed with his dad’s curly blond hair that any woman would die for (or dye for), it was more like ripe wheat than true blond, or at least he told himself that. He wore his hair in one braid down the back to look a bit more professional at the library. The only reason he ‘dressed like a librarian,’ was because it was always cold in there! And he was on his feet a lot stocking and restocking books that people who did not read the bazillion and one signs he made that said, ‘Please leave unread books on stock carts and librarians will restock for you.’

It wasn’t a hipster life, but at 40, he wasn’t into all that anymore, really he never had been. Quiet, soothing music at home with his cat Teacup, a lovely, and very vocal Siamese with long floofy hair.

What did have Fíli mind boggled was that Kíli had made it very clear he had no significant other in his life. How could he not?  Fíli pondered this fact on the days in between Kíli coming in. Why would he read romance books instead of going out there and finding romance? He seemed young enough, at least 10 years younger than Fíli at any rate.

Fíli hoped to show him that love could be found at the library.

**~~*~~**

Kíli wasn’t exactly an avid reader, but it was a lovely way to relax with his dog. He wasn’t comfortable going out and about on his own, and other than the librarian, Fíli, he had not yet made friends.

Fíli, now he was someone he could see himself cuddling up and reading with…among other things. Fíli was friendly, helpful, and was giving him the vibe that he’d like to know more about Kíli. Kíli just wasn’t the type to make the first move. He always prayed that the other person would be brave enough to ask.

He was headed to the library tomorrow. It would be a miracle if he slept a wink tonight.

Well, he may have gotten a whole half hour. He liked to go to the library around one in the afternoon. He thought if he kind of made it a habit, then Fíli would know when to expect him.

When he got to the library, he didn’t see Fíli. Maybe he was sick, or it was his day off or something. Feeling bummed, he wandered over to the books he liked and saw that there were indeed quite a few new ones to read, ooh, and a few new books in series he’d come to enjoy.

He was too preoccupied with reading blurbs, to notice someone behind him.

“Find anything new you like?”

Kíli nearly jumped right into the bookshelf!

“I’m sorry Kíli! I didn’t mean to startle you that bad!”

Kíli laughed it off, “So you did mean to startle me?”

“Uh, well, no but, oh never mind,” Fíli snorted with more chagrin that should be humanly possible. “I have a surprise for you, would you like to see it?”

“A surprise? What kind of surprise?”

“Follow me, and you shall see.”

Nervously Kíli followed. When Fíli grabbed his hand and began to tug him along, he realized Fíli was really excited and it fed into him. Plus, Fíli had nice hands.

When he peeked around the corner of a divider, his jaw dropped. The area was set up as a cozy reading nook just for them, with tea and everything.

“I, uh, took the liberty to choose a few books you might like. I know you are following a few series, so I set them aside as well, plus a few I like, just in case…”

“This is bloody brilliant! You did all this for me?”

“Ah, I, uh, well kind of did all this for, um, us.” Fíli let it hang there, he was too nervous now that everything was happening.

Kíli let out a quiet whoop, “I love it, Fíli! I love that you did this for, for us.”

“I had to do something. I want to get to know you better. I really like you a lot, and it would be nice if maybe we got to know each other to see what we had, ‘more,’ in common. I hope you don’t mind me being so bold. You make me so happy when you’re here, and I kinda really miss you during the week.”

Kíli swallowed hard. This is exactly what he had wanted. “I’m sorry I’m such a coward and wasn’t more forward. I’ve been crazy about you since day one, and hey, the whole Kíli/Fíli, Winter/Spring thing, kinda like fate…if you’re into that stuff.”

“Let’s have a seat and find out more about what we are into and have in common.”

Kíli sat on, or rather in, the enormous puffy bean bag thing, and patted the spot next to him. Fíli happily obliged and was thrilled that Kíli didn’t mind be so cozy together.

**~~*~~**

PD and Teacup, after some initial grandstanding, settled into Fíli’s house just fine together. The same could be said for Fíli and Kíli. Neither one could ever remember being so happy. They did indeed have much in common, and the silly quirks that make one shake their head at their spouse, well, they both just thought such silliness was endearing, not annoying.

The wedding had been huge! Neither husband knew they had that much family, but this is Irish families so everybody was invited and everybody whether related or not, was family.

After the honeymoon to the Canary Islands (both ended up with sunburns), they collected their pup and cat from the ‘furgrandparents,’ who were already setting up play dates together with the furbabies! Parents!

Life settled in at a comfortable pace. Fíli and Kíli were officially the coolest uncles on the planet and had some nieces, nephews, cousins, or another over all the time.

On their one-year anniversary, Kíli set up “their place,” at the library, and they had a cozy evening reading together.

Knowing one could, indeed, find love in the library.

**Author's Note:**

> This is rushed (So sorry!) I've done tons of research on all things Irish but my brain refuses to cough up the info, so it is a mish-mash of American Irish (like me LOL) I absolutely love this story, it had been three sentences in my hard drive for a few years and as I was digging for something, anything to enter. This popped up and now I really need to take it further.
> 
> If anyone feels so inclined to help me with my Irish culture and slang, that would be great...did I just meme?


End file.
